RH Polo vs Talandracas
The 17th game of the 2017 Jaeger-LeCoultre Gold Cup, featured four 10-goal players as RH Polo defeated Talandracas 12-11 in overtime at Cowdray Park Polo Club.
In a back and forth game that saw RH Polo lead early, Talandracas’ 4th chukker and the injury to Adolfo Cambiaso forced RH Polo to adjust their tactics to their changing line-ups. 7-goal player Julian de Lusarreta replaced Cambiaso until RH found fellow 10-golaer Hilario Ulloa to step in for the final chukka. Perfect 7 for 7 shooting from RH Polo in the second half along with missed opportunities from Talandracas late was ultimately the difference. In the absence of Cambiaso, Rodrigo Andrade led the RH offense throughout the second half, finishing with four goals, including the overtime winner.
RH Polo got out to an early 3-1 lead after two chukkers, with Cambiaso, Beresford and Andrade scoring one goal each. Talandracas had difficulty getting past the RH defense, and were only able to convert one out of four shot attempts, with Hugo Lewis being the lone Talandracas player to find the goal early on.
Talandracas was a different team in the 3rd and 4th chukkas as they scored seven goals, four from the field and three from the penalty line as Lewis and David Stirling contributed for two goals each. Cambiaso left the game with injury, with RH Polo holding a 6-5 lead at the time, but Talandracas scored three goals before the 4th chukker was over, taking advantage of an RH team dealing with a substitution.
After the chukka break, RH sorted out their game plan and came out firing, with Rodrigo Andrade driving the team forward scoring two goals, while Cambiaso’s replacement Julian de Lusarreta added one of his own. With a chukka remaining, Hilario Ulloa replaced de Lusarreta to restore the 10-goal status in the #4 position.
An even 6th chukka saw both teams convert one shot from the field and one from the penalty line, as overtime was needed to determine which team would win their 3rd game of the tournament. As was the case throughout the second half, Andrade stepped up for RH Polo offensively and finished a neckshot sailing high over the goal to seal the overtime win for his team.
Monterosso vs Sommelier
The 18th game of the 2017 Jaeger-LeCoultre Gold Cup saw Sommelier edge out Monterosso 10-9 in overtime, in wet conditions on Field #1 at Cowdray Park Polo Club.
Sommelier produced strong team defence throughout the middle of the game, keeping Monterosso off the scoresheet for three consecutive chukkas, as they built a lead behind the performance of Alec White. In a game of few penalty shots, Sommelier was able to use their extra throw-in wins to keep possession and outshoot their opponents by a small margin, which was all that was needed in the close affair.
Coming off a win against Murus Sanctus, Monterosso continued that momentum early on, racing out to a 4-1 lead, with all four goals coming from Santiago Toccalino, as he shot a perfect 3 for 3 from the field and converted his only penalty attempt.
Sommelier locked down their team defence in the following three chukkas as they kept Monterosso off the scoresheet, while scoring five goals of their own. The combination of Fred Mannix and Alec White was effective throughout the game as Mannix protected defensively, allowing White to be on the receiving end of attacks down field.
After Sommelier increased their lead to 6-4 after the 4th chukka, Monterosso bounced back with an exceptional 5th chukka, scoring three goals on four shots to regain the lead heading into the 6th chukka. As the rain poured down even harder, Monterosso scored their 4th and 5th consecutive goals to stretch their lead to three with less than five minutes remaining. However, Sommelier won the next two throw-ins, with Zavaleta and White both running the ball through the goal. Sommelier completed the comeback in the final chukker as Zavaleta scored his 2nd goal of the game to even the score. After a shot by George Hanbury was blocked on the goal line, with time expiring, overtime was needed to determine the winner.
Sommelier continued the pressure that they finished the 6th chukker with and it was Fred Mannix that finished off the shot, just over three minutes into overtime for his 3rd goal of the game to give Sommelier the 10-9 victory.
